Feed-trough.



E. B. EARTH.

FEED TROUGH.

APPLICATION TILED DBO.28,'1911.

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FEED TROUGH.

APPLICATION FILED DBO. 28, 19l1. 1,046,943, Patented Dec. 10,1912.

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invrnn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ELI B. EARTH, 0F UPPER SANDUSKY, OHIO.

FEED-THOUGH.

To all whom it may concern: v

Be it known that I, ELI B. BARTI-I, a citizen of the United States, residing at Upper Sandusky, in the county of VVyandot and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Feed Troughs; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in feed troughs for hogs.

One object of the invention is to provide a feed trough having a series of partitions adapted to be removed and adjusted to provide feed spaces of different widths according to the size of the pigs or hogs to be fed from the trough, said spaces being only wide enough to permit the animal to feed therefrom, thus preventing the animals from getting their feet into the trough.

Another object is to provide a trough of this character having an improved construc- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 28, 1911.

tion and arrangement of cover which when in an open position will prevent the pigs or hogs from standing on the edge of the trough.

With these and other objects in View the invention consists of certain novel features of construct-ion, and the combination and arrangement of parts as will be more fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings; Figure 1 is a perspective view of my feed trough showing the cover in closed position; Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the cover in open position; Fig. 3 is a front view with the cover swung upwardly to its greatest extent; F ig. 4 is a vertical cross sectional view through the trough with the cover in open position as shown in Fig. 2; Fig. 5

r is a similar view with the cover closed;

Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of one of the partitions removed from the trough.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 1 denotes the body portion or re- Patented Dec. 10, 1912. Serial No. 668,279.

ceptacle of the trough, said receptacle being substantially V-shaped in cross section or having front and rear inclined walls, said rear wall being longer than the front wall for a purpose hereinafter described. The ends 2 of the receptacle or body of the trough project a suitable distance beyond the front and rear sides thereof and form supporting members whereby the trough is held and prevented from being readily upset.

Secured to the ends 2 of the trough are cover supporting standards 3 which are connected together at their rear edges by upper and lower longitudinally disposed connecting boards 4 and 5. The front edges of the upper ends of the standards 8 are beveled or formed at an angle and in said angular portion of the edges are seats, notches or recesses 6 the purpose of which will be hereinafter described. Hingedly connected to the forward side of the upper board 4 at its upper edge is a cover 7 formed in upper and lower hingedly connected sections the lower sections of which, when the cover is swung to an open position is adapted to swing or fold inwardly on the upper section in which position said inner section is held by studs 8 which project from the ends of the lower section adj acentto its lower edge and are adapted to engage the notches 6 in the standards 3 as clearly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawing. Then the studs 8 are thus engaged with the notches 6 the cover will be held open and supported in position to prevent the pigs or hogs from standing on the edge of the trough. The cover 7 is provided with a suitable handle or lever 9 whereby the same is opened and closed and in opening the cover the lever is swung downwardly into engagement with a notch 10 formed in the board 4:, thus swinging the sections of the door upwardly, which operation will cause the lower section of the door to swing inwardly against the inner side of the upper section, so that when the handle or lever is released the sections of the cover will swing downwardly to a limited extent or until the studs 8 engage the notches 6 in which position the cover will be supported as hereinbeforedescribed.

Arranged over the front upper side of the trough are a series of partitions 11 each of which is substantiallytriangular in shape and is provided in its lower outer corner with a notch 12 in which is secured the upper end of a trough engaging plate 13 which is engaged with a partition attaching strip 14 secured to the forward edge of the trough, said strip projecting inwardly beyond the inner side of said edge to form a flange through which and through the adjacent portions of the partitions and plates 13 are inserted partition fastening bolts 15 on the lower ends of which are arranged clamping nuts whereby the lower forward corner of the partitions are securely fastened to the strip 1 1 and the front side of the trough.

When thus arranged the rear vertical edge of the partitions fit closely against the inner side of the upper and lower connecting. boards l and 5 and the upper inner corners of the partition, when thus disposed are engaged beneath a clamping strip 16 secured to the inner side of the board 4. as shown. By thus arranging the partitions 11 it is simply necessary to remove the fastening bolts 15 at the lower forward corners of the partitions to permit the latter to be adjusted longitudinally or to be removed entirely from the trough so that when the pigs are small the partitions may be placed very close together and as the pigs grow or increase in size, some of the partitions may be removed and the others adjusted to increase the width of the feed spaces between the partitions thereby permitting the same trough to be used continuously during the entire growth of the pigs. By adjusting the partitions the feed spaces between the same may be maintained at such width according to the size of the pigs, as to just leave room for the latter to feed from the trough, thus preventing the pigs from geting their feet into the trough while feeding therefrom.

It will be noted that the wider rear side of the trough projects a short distance be 7 yond the rear edges of the standards 3 and rear sides of the connecting boards 4 and 5, and providesa space in which the food may be poured or placed into the trough without opening the cover, so that the latter may be left closed, and access to the food prevented until it is desired to feed the pigs.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the construction and operation of the invention will be readily understood without requiring a more extended explanation.

Various changes in the form, proportion and the minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention as claimed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is;

1. In a feed trough, a receptacle, standards secured to the ends thereof and projecting upwardly above the trough, connecting boards arranged between and secured to said standards adjacent to their rear edges, a cover hingedly connected to one of said boards and adapted to be swung upwardly to an open position, said cover comprising upper and lower hingedly connected sections, said lower section being adapted to fold against the upper section when the cover is in an open position, means to hold the cover open and the sections thereof in folded position, said cover thereby preventing the animals feeding from the trough from standing thereon, and a series of partitions adjustably and removably arranged above the food receptacle of the trough.

2. A feed trough comprising a food receptacle, the ends of which are extended to form supports for the trough, standards secured to said ends, said standards having in their upper edges notches, connecting boards secured to and connecting said standards, a cover formed in upper and lower hingedly connected sections, said upper section being hingedly attached. to one of said connecting boards, studs formed on the ends of the lower cover section and adapted to be engaged with the notches in said standards whereby the cover is held open and the sections supported in folded position, a cover operating handle secured to the upper section of the cover, and a series of adjustable and removable partitions arranged above the trough to form a plurality of feed spaces.

3. A feed trough comprising a receptacle, standards secured to the ends thereof, upper and lower connecting bars arranged between and connected at their endsto said standards, a partition attaching strip secured to the forward edge of the trough and projecting inwardly therefrom to form a flange, a series of partitions, trough engaging plates secured in the lower outer corners of said partitions and adapted to engage said strip, fastening devices arranged through said ends of the partitions and plates and through the flange formed by the inner edge of the partition attaching strip whereby the partitions are detachably and adjustably secured at their lower ends, and a partition clamping strip adapted to secure the upper ends of the partitions to the connecting boards of the standards.

4. A feed trough comprising a food receptacle, a supporting frame having seats at its ends, a cover composed of hingedly connected sections, the upper one being hingedly connected to said frame and the lower one being adapted to fold under the upper one when the cover is in open position, and means at the free corners of said lower section to engage said seats, whereby the cover will be retained in its folded open position.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ELI B. EARTH.

Witnesses:

FRANK C. BARTH, C. F, SMITH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

